Russian general says about 10,000 militants deployed in Afghanistan

About 10,000 militants, most of whom are members of Daesh (Arabic acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - ISIL), are currently in Afghanistan, Commander of Russian Central Military District, Lieutenant-General Alexander Lapin, said at a meeting with students and employees of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC) on Monday, according to Sputnik news agency.

“After the defeat of ISIL, members of gangs from Syria and Iraq are moving to other regions. The group's leaders pay special attention to Central Asian countries… According to our estimate, about 10,000 militants, most of whom are members of ISIL… are concentrated in Afghanistan,” Lapin said.

“5,000 militants have been concentrated in northern regions of Afghanistan,” Lapin was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

Recall, Russian officials have been warning Central Asian states about the threat from militants in Afghanistan for years. Russian officials say there are thousands of ISIL militants roaming northern Afghanistan,

The Central Military District is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the central Volga, Ural and Siberia regions of the country and Russian bases in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Headquartered in Yekaterinburg, the Central Military District is the largest military district in Russia by geographic size at 7,060,000 square kilometers (40% of Russian territory) and population at 54.9 million people (39%).